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Shumi Gamasta
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Boston, MA – September 24, 2018 – InnoFly is flying with the AirFi IFE solution on Tway, Asiana airline subsidiary Air Busan and Eastarjet and is in final negotiations with Korean air subsidiary Jin Air.

InnoFly launched the Inflight Entertainment in August 2018 across the 3 airlines simultaneously and is now adding fresh new content and special features using the AirFi platform. AirFi technology is now deployed on more than 1400 aircraft globally, enabling more than 100 million passengers yearly to connect their mobile devices to a world of inflight entertainment.

According to Sang Hyuk Lee, CEO of InnoFly, “Every airline in Korea is determined to offer their passengers great movies and television shows, music, travel information and shopping opportunities. Free content is supported by advertisements, while there are also options to pay for content and products.”

Martijn Moret, co-founder of AirFi and EVP AirFi Asia and Middle East, comments that “AirFi is committed to fully supporting InnoFly to adopt and improve our platform for the Korean market, whilst opening up InnoFly’s Korean content to our other customers across the region.”

About InnoFly

Innofly provides digital ancillary business opportunities to Korean carriers and has now deployed IFE Services across 73 aircraft with three Korean LCCs (Low Cost Carrier). Reaching over 12 million international passengers a year. Innofly has the exclusive rights for airlines in association with CJ ENM, the no.1 media content provider in Korea. CJ ENM provides 14 TV channels and 80% of Korean movies. Innofly is a subsidiary of “Innoride Incorporated”, a digital business advisory in Korea.

About AirFi

AirFi brings innovations to the cabin offering the unique platforms “AirFi” and “Connected Crew” designed especially for airlines to effectively and securely bridge the information gap between the company and its remote staff and passengers. AirFi is supported by NewRest, Mainport Innovation Fund, founded by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Schiphol Group, Delft University of Technology and Rabobank.

APEX Insight: Who says low-cost carriers can’t deliver entertainment for everyone on board? Sun Country, amid its shift to a new structure and operating profile, is retiring its limited deployment of rental tablets in favor of AirFi’s new wireless in-flight entertainment platform.

Sun Country Airlines will become the global launch customer for AirFi’s latest wireless in-flight entertainment variant. Starting in January 2019, the Minneapolis-St.Paul-based low-cost carrier will stream media aboard its 25 Boeing 737 aircraft using a new fully autonomous, semi-embedded (F.A.S.E.) solution from AirFi that requires zero interaction from the crew to operate and update.

The AirFi Boxes operate fully autonomously and use ADS-B and pressure sensors on board to control system operations, including when connected to public Wi-Fi networks and when performing other maintenance tasks.

A trio of AirFi’s Venus servers will be installed on each aircraft in Sun Country’s fleet and will remain fully autonomous from that point onward. The hardware is aircraft-powered, removing the battery challenges of earlier models. The systems will also be able to update content dynamically using cellular modems when on the ground. During the content update cycle, the Venus hardware offloads performance and payment data.

Brian Davis, Sun Country Airlines’ chief marketing officer, said the changing dynamics of passenger expectations, even on low cost carriers, influenced its decision to offer wireless IFE. “Passengers have come to expect a digital onboard entertainment offering as part of our in-flight experience and so a fully-managed wireless IFE service suited our future needs best.”

“Our challenge for this project was to elevate the onboard passenger experience without impacting our cost base, alongside our seat densification program to increase passenger load across the network.” – Brian Davis, Sun Country Airlines

While Sun Country Airlines will offer some free content for passengers, it will also charge a fee to access some premium content. “Our challenge for this project was to elevate the onboard passenger experience without impacting our cost base, alongside our seat densification program to increase passenger load across the network,” said Davis.

The deal with Sun Country comes in addition to a contract that AirFi secured with Bahamasair, the flag carrier of the Bahamas, to install Venus Box battery-powered systems on the airline’s four Boeing 737s. AirFi also announced it is opening a new office in Irvine, California, for its AirFi America division to support its airline customers in North America and drive further growth.

That growth will not only come from airlines, according to Eli Atiya, AirFi’s COO. Atiya believes that the new offices in Irvine, California, represent “[A] fantastic opportunity for AirFi America to really accelerate our footprint in this hugely significant market, both in aviation and other mass transit industries.” AirFi also opened a new headquarters in the Netherlands earlier this year.

Innofly, a provider of digital ancillary business opportunities for Korean carriers, has deployed in-flight entertainment for Eastar Jet, T’way Air and Asiana Airlines subsidiary Air Busan, using the AirFi platform. Having launched simultaneously with the three carriers in August 2018, Innofly is now also in final negotiations with Korean Air subsidiary Jin Air.

“Every airline in Korea is determined to offer their passengers great movies and television shows, music, travel information and shopping opportunities,” said Sang Hyuk Lee, CEO of InnoFly. “Free content is supported by advertisements, while there are also options to pay for content and products.”

AirFi has also secured global distribution rights for Dance 24, adding audio and video content from the electronic dance music (EDM) scene to its in-flight entertainment catalog. Passengers will be able to see live streams and recordings of DJ sets, documentaries, interviews and more, from international festivals like Ultra, Mysteryland and Awakenings, featuring DJs such as Armin van Buuren, Tiesto and David Guetta.

“We are hugely excited to have the exclusive rights for the travel industry to bring these mega dance music events to the world’s travelers,” said Martin Cunnison, CCO at AirFi. “At the same time we’ve removed all the uncertainty of music streaming licenses as DANCE 24 is 100% rights cleared.”